Vehicle-top.



w. EDSON.

vemcu TOP. APPLICATION FILED AUG-28,1916.

1,294,640., Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

'- ATTORNEY.

W. EDSON.

VEHICLE TOP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-28, 191a.

Patented Feb. 18,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHET 2.

WITNESSES:

INVENTOR. MwM-w BY [fl -ATTORNEY.

wnmrnnnnson, or NEW YORK, u. r.

eeaee A vnnIom-ror.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. ia, rare.

Application filed August 28, 1916. Serial No. 117,156.

State of New York, have invented certain. .new and useful Improvements in Vehicle- Tops, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings,'which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to vehicle tops and more particularly to a type of collapsible vehicle tops especially adapted for use upon automobiles or other vehicles wherein 1t is necessaryto project one end of the top by means of a plurality of bows supported from main bows secured to the vehicle body.

The type of top to which my invention relates is that which is popularly known as a one man top, the construction of which .possess considerable weight and are of a.

width to be awkward to handle because of the tendency of side stresses to cause binding upon the pivotal connections between the bow-s and connecting links.

In a top .made in accordance with my invention, the various bows are so connected that stresses applied at any point of the top will be distributed among all of the bows at a point thereof which will insure a simultaneous parallel movement in equal ratio of all of said bows and avoid binding between'any of said bows and their pivotal supports. Furthermore, I so connect the means transmitting said stresses to the several bows, and so support the bows themselves, that the arc described by each of said bowsin raising or lowering the top, will be compensated for in a manner to relieve the bows themselves and the power transmitting mechanism from distorting stresses.

The power transmitting mechanism may be so connected to the several bows that the stresses will be applied substantially centrally of each bow, or at the opposite sides thereof, and if desired the forward outrigger bow may be so connected with the other bows and withthe said power transmitting mechanism as to be capable of movement independently of said other how while transmitting stresses thereto after the full movement has been imparted to said outrigger bow in either raising or lowering the top.

' A further characteristic of invention is that the lpower transmitting means is utilized for t e locking of the top in its ex-' tended position in a manner to avoid possibility of the accidental folding or collapsing of the top under head resistances.

The inventlon consists; primarily in 9. ve-' hicle top embodying therein apalr of main bows adapted to be ivotally connected with a vehicle body, an outrigger bow, a link pivotally connected'with the ends of said outngger bow and the forward of said main bows, pivotal supports carried by each of said bows and a lazy'to'ngs lever system pivotally connected with each of said supports whereby said levers-may move in substan-- tially the same plane and said supports will turn to compensate for the rotatlve move-- ment of said'bows; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are 'herelnafter set forth and descri'bed and more particularly pointed out Eig. 3 is a detail View of one of the pivotal supports for the lazy tongs lever system;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of a modified form of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a view of a modified form of the invention, showing the use of a floating outrigger bow.-

Like letters refer to like parts through out the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the accompanying drawings, the main bows are indicatedat a-b the ends of said bows respectively being pivotally connected to a fitting 0 adapted to be pivotally connectedwith the vehicle body.

An outrigger bow d is pivotally supported from side links e, the other ends of which links are pivotally connected with the for-. ward bow I) of the pair of main bows a-b. At f, I have shown an intermediate bow, also pivotally connected with the links 6 so as to have upward or downwardmov'ement imparted thereto under the control of said links. The length of the side arms of the bow and the point of. pivotal connection of said arms with the links e, and the length of the links 6 and the arms of the outrig- I ger'bow d are such that when the top is .001-

lapsed, the bows will all be in substantially the same plane; and when openlng and closing the top, they will move in substantially the same plane. By this construction any are described b theseveral bows exceptlng that described y the main bows when they move about their points of pivotal support with the fitting 0, will be limited to the rotative movement of the tops of the bows as the are thrust forward.

Iii order to provideagainst side warping of the several bows in raising and lowering the top, with a resultant binding at their points of pivotal support, I provide a lazy tong lever system 9, the levers of which at one'of their points of pivotal connection are connected to supports h--hh ---h respectively. These supports are pivotallymounted in brackets carried by the bows abd and f, the axis of said pivots being perpendicular to the axis of .the pivotal connections between said levers. By this construction an tilting of the several bows, such as is above referred to, will be compensated for by the movement of the supports h to. k about their respective pivots, thus making it possible to use a lazy tong structure for securing the desired parallel movement andfor holding the top extended. The various bows being connected to the levers of said lazy tongs system g, it is apparent that the movement of any of said bows will actuate said lazy tongs system in a manner to impart simultaneous, similar movement to all of the bows connected therewith. An ordinary cover 5 is connected with each of the bows and also with a floating bow j pivotally connected with the main bow a so that said floating bow will receive movement under the control of the cover simultaneously with the movement of the other bows.

By inserting a wedge member or members at any point of the lever system where it will prevent the collapsing of the lazy tongs system, said tong system may be used to fimly hold the top in its extended position. I have shown such a wedge structure at la, the members of said wedge being closed upon the levers by means of the screw 70'.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the supports it tok are connected with pivots arranged at the intersection of the levers of the lazy tongs system 9 while the supports H3 are connected with the end levers of said system,

said supports being arranged centrally of the various bows. In this manner all of the stresses in opening and closing the top' are applied along the center line thereof,

thus minimizing any tendency of the various bows to warp.

-extent in either direction.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4, the stresses are applied adjacent the opposite sides of these bows, the construction for securing this result differing from that of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3 in the respect that each bow is provided with two supports mm adjacent'each side of the top thereof, which supports respectively are provided with axially extending slots adapted to receive and retain the pivot connecting the ends of the various levers of the lazy tongs system 9 and permit sufficient lateral play-to allow the closing of the tongs. The supports mm upon the outrigger bow g and upon the main bow a are connected with the end levers of the lazy tongs system respectively.

The various supports -mm are pivotally.

mounted in relation to the bows carrying same in the manner heretofore described.

When using a floating outrigger, as shown in Fig. 5, the purpose is to permit the outrigger bow d to move independently of the remaining bows of the top structure. In this structure, I provide the outrigger bow d with two' supports n/n adjacent the opposite sides thereof similar-in construction to the supports mm. Slidably mounted in said supports is one end of the bars o0', the other ends of which converge and are pivotally connected to the foremost of the central line of pivots of the lazy tongs system 9. Bythis construction the outrigger bow 03 may be moved toward or from the intermediate bow f without imparting any movement thereto until said outrigger bow has received its maximum movement either 1n opening or closing the top; and yet permit the application ofthe desired energy to the remaining bows ab and 7 when the outrigger how has been movedto the maximum In this manner the energy required to open and close the top 'is divided. By locating the clamp is between bars 0-0 and the portion of the lazy tongs system 9 adjacent the point of pivotal connection of said bars therewith, the top may be locked in the open position as in the other forms of the invention shown since this clamp prevents any change in the angle of projection of the members with which it engages.

I prefer the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 3 since in this form the tendency of the cooperating parts of the. top to bind, in openmg and closing, is practically eliminated since the entire lazy tongs system and the supports connecting same with the vari ous bows is connected by means of pivots in which suflicient'play may be allowed to Figs. 4 and 5, however, there might be a tendency of the pivots uponthe lazy tongs system to bind in the slots'in the. supports mm'nn' thus increasing: the energy arts are not in the proper proportion for a 11 size workin top, the said drawings illustrating mere y' a working model of the device-f j ,1'.

V The operation of the herein described de vice isflsubstantially as follows :e

Referring to the forms of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4, of the accompanying drawings, when the top is collapsed the various bows abtL-f and 9' will be folded so as to be in substantially the same plane and the main bows 0-1) will be swung backwardly so as to leave the vehicle entirely open. When in this condition the lazy tong system will be folded together and W111 lie perfectly flat within the bow. i

When it is desired to extend the top it is merely necessary to first raise the main bows ab to an upright position which will raise the. outrigger, intermediate and floating bows.- Byapplying a for-ward thrust to any of the bows bd and f all of the bows excepting the main bow a will be simultaneously projected forwardly by reason of the extension of the lazy tong system 9 and the main bow a will be projected rearwardly,

the I various bows assuming the positions shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. As the cover i. is extended with the bows it will carry the floating bow j with it, this bow being. unconnected with the lazy tong system and connected only with the topv cover and the bow a. As the bows df swing forwardly-the side links ewill be raised thus permitting the top of the bows to travel in a substantially horizontal plane by reason of the fact that the sides ofthe bows d and f are of substantially the same length as the distance between their points of pivotal connection with the link 6 and the main bow b and thedistance between the point of pivotal connection of the said link 6 and the top of the said bow b. As the bows b-d'f move forward, however, there is a change in the angular relation between the tops of saidbows respectively and the lazy tongs system 9 by reason of the rotative 3 movement of the tops of said bows. The pivotal supports h-h and k however, will remain fixed with relation to the lazy tongs system thus avoiding binding at the points of pivotal connection of the lazy tongs with the several bows.

The lazy tongs system results in uni;

formity in the distribution of the energy applied to any of the bows, among all of the bows and the application of stresses to said bows in a manner to prevent twisting thereof which willresult' such binding as various bows.

to interfere with the free movement of the Assuming that the stresses are applied 7 to the bow d by pulling from the front of the vehicle it is unnecessary tograsp the bow toward each side thereof as the bow may be grasped toward the middle in a manner to permit the application of greater force in a more convenient manner.

When .the. top has been extended, suitable locking means, as'the clamp is applied in a manner to prevent the closing of the lazy tongs although if desired the ordinary front drawn forward until the lazy tongs system is completely closed and the tops of all of the bows are brought close together. Whereupon the main bows ab may be swung upon their pivotal connections with the fitting c to drop the top at the back of the vehicle.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 5. the operation is substantially as heretofore described with the exception that the floating links 0--0' permit the outrigger bow to have a limited movement independently of the other bows.

' It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is M.

1. A vehicle top embodying therein a pair of main bows adapted to be pivotally connected with a vehicle body, an outrigger bow, side links pivotally connected with the ends of said outrigger bow and the forward of said main bows, pivotal supports carried system pivotally connected with each of said supports; the axis of said pivotal supports being perpendicular to the axis of the pivotal connection between said lazy tongs sys-- tem and said supports whereby said levers may move in substantially the same plane and said supports will turn to compensate for the rotative movement of said bows.

2. A vehicle top embodying therein a pair of main bows adapted to be pivotally connected with a vehicle body, an outrigger bow, a bow intermediate said outrigger bow and said main bow, side links'pivotally .connected with the ends of said outrigger and said intermediate bows and the forward of said main bows, pivotal supports carried by each of said bows and a lazy tongs lever system pivotally connected with each of said supports, the axis of said pivotal supports being perpendicular to the axis of the pivotal connection between said lazy tongs sys- .tem and said supports whereby said levers may move in substantially the same plane and said supports will turn to compensate 'for the rotative movement of said bows.

3. A vehicle to embodying therein a pair of main bows a apted to be pivotally connected with a vehicle body. an outrigger bow, side links pivotally connected with the ends of said outrigger bow and the forward of said main bows, pivotal supports carried by each of said bows, a lazy tongs lever system pivotally connetced with each of said supports, the axis of said pivotal supports being perpendicular to the axis of the pivotal connection between said lazy tongs sys' tem and said supports whereby said levers may move in substantially the same plane and said supports will turn to compensate for the rotative movement of said bows, and means operative upon the levers of said lazy tongs lever system whereby when the top is extended theclosing of said levers is prevented.

l. A vehicle top embodying therein a pair of main bows adapted to be pivotally connected with a vehicle body, an outrigger bow, a bow intermediate said outrigger bow and said main .bow, side links pivotally connected with the ends of said outrigger and said intermediate bows and the forward of said main bows, pivotal supports carried by each of said bows, a lazy tongs lever system pivotally connected with each of said supports, the axis of said pivotal supports being perpendicular to the axis of the pivotal connection between said lazy tongs system and said supports whereby said levers may move in substantially the same plane and said supports will turn to compensate for the rotative movement of said bows, and means operative upon the levers of said lazy tongs lever system whereby when the top is extended the closing of said levers is prevented.

5. A vehicle top embodying therein a pair of main bows adapted to be pivotally connected with a vehicle body, an outrigger bow, side links pivotally connected with the ends of said outrigger bow and the forward of said main bows, pivotal supports carried by each of said bows, a lazy tongs lever system pivotally connected with each of said supports, the axis of said pivotal supports being perpendicular to the axis of the pivotal connection between. said lazy tongs system and said su ports whereby said levers may move in su stantially the same plane and said supports will turn to compensate for the rotative movement of said bows, and a floating bow pivotally connected to the rearward of said main bows and attached to the cover for said bows.

6. A vehicle top embodying therein a pivotal fitting adapted to be mounted upon the tonneau of a vehicle body, a pair of main bows, each pivotally mounted upon said fitting, an outrigger bow, an intermediate bow, a lazy tongs lever system, pivotal connections between said lever system and said bows re spectively, side links, a pivotal connection between one end of each of said links and one of said main bows, and between the other end of each of said links and said out rigger bow, and pivotal connections between a point of each of said links intermediate the end thereof and said intermediate bow, whereby the top of said outrigger bow and of said intermediate bow are caused to have movement in. a substantially. horizontal plane in opening and closing the .top.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 10th day of August, 1916.

WILLIAM EDSON. Witnesses EUGENE E. GARREE, FELIGIE LE GARREE. 

